2.5: Sports Balls

The graph below shows the number of tennis balls that four different people have. Can you tell who has the most tennis balls? Can you tell who has the least tennis balls? Can you use the graph to figure out how many tennis balls each person has? In this concept, we will learn how to interpret picture graphs.

Guidance

In order to answer questions like the ones above about who has greatest number of sports balls and who has the least number of sports balls we can use the picture graph. The person with the greatest number of sports balls will have the highest stack. The person with the least number of sports balls will have the shortest stack. In order to figure out exactly how many sports balls each person has, we can count the number of sports balls in their stack.

Example A

Look at the picture graph below. This picture graph shows four students and the ping pong balls they have. The circles stand for ping pong balls. The students are Todd, Dina, Matt, Carol.

Matt has the least number of ping pong balls. How many ping pong balls does Matt have? Color Matt’s ping pong balls blue.

You should see that Matt has 1 ping pong ball by counting the number of balls in his stack.

How can you tell from the graph that Matt has the least number of ping pong balls?

You can tell because his stack is the shortest.

Todd and Carol have the same number of ping pong balls. How many ping pong balls do they each have? Color their ping pong balls yellow.

You should see that Todd and Carol each have 3 ping pong balls.

How can you tell from the graph that Todd and Carol have the same number of ping pong balls?

You can tell because their stacks are the same height.

Dina has the greatest number of ping pong balls. How many ping pong balls does she have? Color Dina’s ping pong balls red.

You should see that Dina has 5 ping pong balls.

How can you tell from the graph that Dina has the greatest number of ping pong balls?

You can tell because her stack is the highest. Here is a graph that has been colored.

Example B

Look at the picture graph below. This picture graph shows four students and the ping pong balls they have. The circles stand for ping pong balls. The students are Jeff, Roz, Pedro, Cindy.

How many basketballs does Roz have?

Roz has zero basketballs. You can tell because there are no circles above her name.

Who has the greatest number of basketballs? How many basketballs does that person have? Color this person's basketballs red

Jeff has the greatest number of basketballs. He has 6 basketballs.

Pedro has 2 less basketballs than Jeff. How many basketballs does Pedro have? Color Pedro’s basketballs green.

Pedro has 4 basketballs.

Cindy has 2 more basketballs than Roz. How many basketballs does Cindy have? Color Cindy’s basketballs yellow.

Cindy has 2 basketballs. Here is a graph that has been colored.

Concept Problem Revisited

This picture graph shows four students and the tennis balls they have. The circles stand for tennis balls. The student's names are Ella, Ann, Bob, Sam.

From looking at the graph we can see that Bob has the greatest number of tennis balls because his stack is the highest. Bob has 6 tennis balls. We will color Bob’s tennis balls green.

We can also tell from looking at the graph that Ann has the least number of tennis balls because her stack is the shortest. Ann has 2 tennis balls. We will color Ann's tennis balls yellow.

Sam has one more tennis ball than Ann, so Sam has 3 tennis balls. We will color Sam's tennis balls blue.

Ella has 5 tennis balls. We will color Ella's tennis balls red.

Here is what the graph looks like once it has been colored.

Vocabulary

To have
more
means to have a greater amount. The person with the
most
has the greatest amount. To have
less
means to have a smaller amount. To have the
least
means to have the smallest amount. In the picture below, Bob has the most tennis balls and Ann has the least tennis balls.

Guided Practice

This picture graph shows four students and the golf balls they have. The circles stand for golf balls. The students are Ang, Beth, Don, Eric.

1. Who has the greatest number of golf balls? How many golf balls does this person have? Color this person's golf balls red.